Dons struggle in blowout against Lancers

The Santa Ana Dons played the Pasadena City Lancers in a game that was delayed due to heat. SAC lost 46-28 on Saturday night.

SAC got off to a rough start in the first half. It could not gain any offensive momentum, and six offside penalties haunted the defensive line.

“Things like this are the head coach’s fault,” said head coach Geoff Jones. “Not preparing the defensive line to see a hard count like that; you got probably 40 guys who are true freshmen taking snaps; it’s on me.”

The offense seemed rattled, allowing four interceptions, six sacks and losing a fumble.

“It was just nervousness,” said coach James Guglielmana. “Guys just weren’t locked in, they weren’t ready to go.”

Pasadena was in control on special teams as well, returning a 92-yard kickoff for a touchdown and totaling 254 return yards for the game.

Freshman defensive back Joey Fox had 4.0 tackles. Photo by Brandon Rowley / el Don

Going into halftime the Dons coaching staff emphasized calming down and settling the nerves.

“The difference in the second half was the young guys,” said Coach Jones. “The true freshmen, all of a sudden, had 30-40 plays under their belts, and we started moving quicker and playing with more tempo.”

Despite being down 43-7 SAC wouldn’t give up and would gain some traction at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Quarterback Nate Bento capped off a 75-yard drive with a physical rushing touchdown, sparking something within the team.

SAC’s defense stepped up on Pasadena’s next two drives, forcing a three-and-out and an interception, leading to touchdowns for SAC on the other end.

Both late touchdowns came from amazing catches from sophomore receiver Malichi Piece who ended the game with 107 yards on seven receptions.

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Malichi Pierce fighting for his first touchdown of the season. Photo by Brandon Rowley / el Don

“We didn’t get to them all as much as we’d like,” said Pierce. “But that’ll come with weeks of practice, and I feel like we just need to step up into the going games as a whole.”

The game closed out in a blowout win for Pasadena, leaving Santa Ana in a similar situation to last season.

“Last year, same thing, we lost to this team,” said Coach Guglielmana. “They laid it on us pretty good, but we went on to go 9-2, so the goal is to be facing them in the championship game.”

Santa Ana will move on to LA Southwest next week before returning home against Glendale on Sat. Sep, 21.